The red-hot Avalanche, coming off a 5-0 road trip that put it tied with Dallas atop the Western Conference standings, returned to practice today and prepared for its second home game Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Good start to the year for us, but now we have to move ahead here,” Avs coach Joe Sacco said. “We don’t want to put it behind us — we want to reflect on the things that we did well, the positive things and carry them over here moving forward — but we have to look at our opponent Thursday night.”
The Avs (5-1), who had Tuesday off after defeating Toronto 3-2 in overtime on Monday, also play the Blackhawks on Saturday in Chicago.
“We have a home-and-home with one of the best teams in the Western Conference, in my opinion, so that’s our mindset right now,” Sacco said.
Goalie Semyon Varlamov will start Thursday against Chicago, Sacco said, and forward Peter Mueller, who has missed the past three games, will again not play.
Mueller, who missed all of last season with concussion issues, practiced today but isn’t deemed 100 percent.
“Feeling great. Just, you know, getting everything back in the loop and waiting for my time to (get the) call,” Mueller said after practice.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
